The news we heard last week that the San Jacinto Museum in Texas covets Santa Anna's wooden leg is nothing new. Texas tried to get that leg from Springfield before, once with the help of their U.S. senator.

The leg did leave Springfield, and Illinois for that matter, for a short time in 1976. But not without controversy.

Not that we have always treated Santa Anna's wooden leg with much respect. For decades, we didn't even know we had it. The leg was in storage and forgotten, just another of the 7,000 pieces of military history in an old building at Camp Lincoln, home of the Illinois National Guard. When the artificial leg was rediscovered, somebody with the Guard must have thought, “Hey, this is cool. We should display this.”

And so they did. It was used as a recruiting tool for the Guard in the mid-1970s as part of a traveling display of military history. Santa Anna's leg traveled the state, along with other pieces, such as a drum and an actual cracker (graham? hardtack?), both of which dated to the Civil War.

Now, a little more relevant history. The office of the Guard's adjutant general used to be in the Howlett Building (when it was the Centennial Building). Some of the military artifacts were on display there.

According to news stories from that era, the adjutant general was ousted from the building in the early 1970s. No other word than “ousted” fits, though one article said the AG was “kicked out” of the building. That's a little harsh, eh?

The adjutant general then was Gen. Patton — Harold Patton, that is. He moved his office to Camp Lincoln, where the historical items were stored in a hot and dry second floor of one of their buildings. In the 1970s, there was no more suitable place at Camp Lincoln to display them. There was no Illinois Military Museum. It opened approximately 10 years ago.

So we come to 1976 and our nation's bicentennial celebration. The Smithsonian asked that we loan Santa Anna's leg to them for a bicentennial display. The state had mixed feelings. Patton asked for a ruling from Illinois Attorney General William Scott. Scott ruled that a state law on the books since 1874 barred officials from loaning “trophies of war” that belonged to the state.

But Patton decided that the leg was not a “trophy of war.” He decided it was a “personal trophy” of the unknown soldier from Illinois' Third Regiment who actually captured the leg at Cerro Gordo on April 18, 1847. And off it went to the Smithsonian, then back to Springfield.

Everything was cool for about 10 years. But in 1986, Texas wanted the leg as it celebrated the 150th anniversary of its establishment as the Republic of Texas. First, a Texas doctor offered to buy the leg. He was summarily turned down.

Page 2 of 2 - Then out of nowhere, both the Washington Post and Newsweek reported about Texas's coveting of the leg. They reported that Texas wanted the leg from Springfield to use as trade bait to get from Mexico a flag that flew at the Alamo. Coincidentally, that is the same reason Texas used last week for wanting Santa Anna's leg. They have not forgotten the Alamo ... flag.

I don't think it's much of a stretch to intuit that the story was planted by U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas. Gramm was referenced in the Post and Newsweek as being in on the negotiations. At the time, he was also chairman of the Senate's delegation to the, ahem, U.S.-Mexico Interparliamentary Conference, whatever that was.

Gramm's machinations didn't get that leg out of Springfield and neither will the half-hearted effort by Texas' San Jacinto Museum of History. The museum got one of those goofy White House petitions going. If enough people sign the petition, then the White House has to make some sort of statement or take some kind of action on whatever the petition asks. What a dumb idea.

But the petition to send Santa Anna's leg to Texas didn't get enough signatures. It's nice to know, though, that Springfield has something someone else covets.

Know of something quirky? Emotional? Funny? Inspiring? Dave Bakke is your man and his deadline is always near. Pitch your idea to him at dave.bakke@sj-r.com or at (217) 788-1541. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. To read more, visit www.sj-r.com/bakke.